Permanent Trail Camera Power Project

[Jtaylor]

It will officially work, but with rechargeable batteries in the tray it will not be running at the same voltage as if standard batteries were in it. That would permanently put the camera at 9-10 volts as opposed to 12v.


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I see, my cameras are 6v I might give it a shot and see how it holds up through the winter months. Thanks for sparking the idea!

 

[IkemanTX]

Just realized I never updated this…

The first round of boxes had too much warping from temperature changes during the print cycle. Life got pretty busy, so the project got put on hold for a while until a few weeks ago when I decided to get everything ordered to complete the project. All components are ordered, most have arrived already, and I ordered a pair of newly designed boxes to house it.

Total size is 125mm X 95mm X 35mm tall.
The internal batteries are 2,800 mAh Nickel-metal-hydride rechargeable batteries connected in series (positive-negative-positive-negative) to make a 12V pack.

I found some small, flat, 12v solar panels that will perfectly cover the back of the box. I made it 5mm wider length and width wise to protect the edges of the panel.

With the files sent out today, I should have the final high quality boxes in hand in the next 2 weeks. I rendered the 12v regulator and directional diode into the box just for size reference. The main empty space in the compartment will be taken up mostly by wires, and the holes on opposite sides will be waterproof bulkhead DC wire plugs.

I also added some lithium battery only setups to the project in addition to the more complex solar ones.
I am building those out of LifePo4 32700 cells that have 6,000 mAh. 4 of those makes a 12v pack, and i will be using a Battery Management Board with active balanced charging to keep the batteries in good shape. So, the external pack is the equivalent of 2 full sets of Energizer Extreme Lithium batteries. They should provide 16-18 months worth of power even on video mode at the ultra setting with no internal batteries in the camera at all.
Now to order several 256gb cards so the cameras don’t fill up.

All said and done, between the Gen 1 solar batteries, the Gen 2 ones, and the battery only packs, i will have external power for 10 cameras with a minimum of 18 months on video mode each. Hopefully it allows me to avoid the issues I had this year with cameras dying due to not being able to get in and swap batteries.


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[IkemanTX]

So, the BMS (battery management system) boards finally arrived from China, so i assembled a couple of the lithium battery only packs.

They worked like a charm.

With the lag bolt/lag screw mount system I use, I should have JUST enough space to Velcro these packs to the back of the camera and not be any more visible for public land. Obviously these will end up painted camo to help hide them. I am planning to sponge paint them when all 6 are done.

Now if the 3D printing would finally ship….


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[PapaBear]

What did is cost to make the battery packs? Roughly.

 

[IkemanTX]

What did is cost to make the battery packs? Roughly.

On these, I’m probably $11-15 each all in. Assuming you don’t have to buy any tools like a soldering iron, or heat gun.


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[BackSpasm]

I am interested to see the final assembled product

 

[IkemanTX]

The 3D prints came in, with 2 minor issues that were entirely my fault. I hadn’t noticed that 2 of my design components weren’t touching the main box when I merged the objects during exporting. The extra support for the mounting screw hex head, and the 12V lettering on the outside were each slightly separate, causing the printing of those components to fail.
The Hex head support was 0.2mm off and the 12V lettering was 0.1mm, so neither component adhered to the box. Minor imperfections, to be honest, and not required for it to function.

This is the failed hex head component. And the 12V lettering didn’t fall off until I unwrapped it. So close to adhering!!!

I am only home in Texas for 16 hours tonight between work trips, so I won’t be soldering and assembling parts until next week at the earliest. But, here is a rough dry fit.

10 AA’s (NiMh) soldered into a 12V pack fit perfectly with room for wiring.

The 1.5w solar panel fit perfectly with enough room around the edges to protect the edges of the panel.

Size comparison vs a Browning Dark Ops camera. These should be east to conceal after a camo paint job.

The holes for the waterproof female DC plugs were absolutely perfect, and the hole for the solar panel aligned precisely. Looks like all the time taking notes with calipers paid off.

I can’t wait to get these things finished now… I am so stoked!!!


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[IkemanTX]

I have been flying 5 days a week for work, so progress is CRAWLING on this project… but, after this paint, all I have left is assembly!

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[IkemanTX]

Here she is…. Silicone is drying, and once that is firmed up, I will hang one in the back yard and try them out. It won’t be this morning, because storms are rolling through.

Solar battery box

youtube.com

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[bigbaddaboom]

Not to derail but having to learn CAD is what has kept me from getting a 3D printer. My brother is a career CAD designer but hasn't really seemed interested in doing it after hours as well. With that said, how much time did you spend learning this TinkerCAD and what does it cost?

I've used a ton of the commercial cad programs and honestly Tinkercad is super super easy for most of the things people want to make. It's free. Can't recommend it enough for the newbie looking to get into any kind of modeling / 3d printing.

 

[IkemanTX]

Well. I couldn’t wait until clear skies. The storm moved mostly past, so I put one up. I have a couple cords on order specifically for these 2 solar boxes that will be sponge painted to match, so ignore the jet black extra thick cord.

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[IkemanTX]

Well, I have left the camera on max settings in the back yard for 72 hours. We have 2 dogs that are constantly back there, and one of them is a GSP that runs continuous laps around the yard. That has run the camera harder than any public land camera setup I could ever dream to set up. Over 800 videos recorded in ultra mode in just 72 hours with zero internal batteries.

My goal with this test was to see how long it would take of intense usage for the battery in the box to be depleted… assuming the solar panel wouldn’t keep up with demand like this. I was proven wrong…. The panel is more than capable of keeping up with the toughest of demands in full sun. With the excellent low light performance of this panel, I could be in dense canopy forest and still trickle charge a feeder setup, not to mention the low draw of one of my typical public land cameras.

72 hours, 800+ videos, and the nominal voltage of the battery pack (with solar panel covered so as not to cheat) was 12.7v….. almost 100% charged for a 10S NiMh pack.

Honestly, I am blown away with the performance of these units. I honestly thought I would be down around 10 volts by now with how hard the camera is running.


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[BackSpasm]

Well, I have left the camera on max settings in the back yard for 72 hours. We have 2 dogs that are constantly back there, and one of them is a GSP that runs continuous laps around the yard. That has run the camera harder than any public land camera setup I could ever dream to set up. Over 800 videos recorded in ultra mode in just 72 hours with zero internal batteries.

My goal with this test was to see how long it would take of intense usage for the battery in the box to be depleted… assuming the solar panel wouldn’t keep up with demand like this. I was proven wrong…. The panel is more than capable of keeping up with the toughest of demands in full sun. With the excellent low light performance of this panel, I could be in dense canopy forest and still trickle charge a feeder setup, not to mention the low draw of one of my typical public land cameras.

72 hours, 800+ videos, and the nominal voltage of the battery pack (with solar panel covered so as not to cheat) was 12.7v….. almost 100% charged for a 10S NiMh pack.

Honestly, I am blown away with the performance of these units. I honestly thought I would be down around 10 volts by now with how hard the camera is running.


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I'm not sure how the camera is wired, but is it possible that it was burning through its on-board batteries which are now depleted and is just switched over to using your power unit? Or does it not have any regular batteries installed?

 

[IkemanTX]

I'm not sure how the camera is wired, but is it possible that it was burning through its on-board batteries which are now depleted and is just switched over to using your power unit? Or does it not have any regular batteries installed?

No regular batteries installed at all at this point. The only potential power to the camera is from this solar unit.


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[woodsdog2]

Very cool. I can't stand buying batteries all the time for these things. I've resigned to Li batteries exclusively now for my trail cams which do work excellently but they are never cheap. But they are more cost effective in the long run. I really like this idea and certainly it would work for cell cams just sending pics correct?

 

[Bolo1187]

No regular batteries installed at all at this point. The only potential power to the camera is from this solar unit.


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So I built a solar battery pack just like your first one on this post and it is only showing at the highest 65% charged per my Spypoint camera app. It's also dropping down 20-30% each night. Is this normal or did I mess something up when putting it together?

 

[IkemanTX]

So I built a solar battery pack just like your first one on this post and it is only showing at the highest 65% charged per my Spypoint camera app. It's also dropping down 20-30% each night. Is this normal or did I mess something up when putting it together?

It depends on the voltage the spypoints consider fully charged.
Rechargeable NIMH batteries run at a lower voltage than both standard NiCad and lithium cells. If spypoint set their voltage profile up for top of the line chemistries, it could definitely show low.

How many cells did you use in series?


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[Bolo1187]

It depends on the voltage the spypoints consider fully charged.
Rechargeable NIMH batteries run at a lower voltage than both standard NiCad and lithium cells. If spypoint set their voltage profile up for top of the line chemistries, it could definitely show low.

How many cells did you use in series?


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It's the exact one Handy hunter has on his Amazon list. Hooked everything up the way he showed on his video

https://a.co/d/3jZ0Apf

 

[IkemanTX]

It's the exact one Handy hunter has on his Amazon list. Hooked everything up the way he showed on his video

https://a.co/d/3jZ0Apf

In that case, it is either the voltage curve the camera is using to read what the battery percentage is running at, the camera is drawing enough power that you just aren’t making it back up to full power, or the voltage regulator is not supplying the full 12v it is supposed to.
It is pretty common for them to run in the 10 or 10.5 range rather than at 12 where it needs to be. I would bet on it being the voltage regulator.


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[dalton916]

Got a link to that solar panel you’re using?